Music from the EMS Synthi 100 by Yoshio Machida & Constantin Papageorgiadis

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to me they are not unknown – both being specialists in their fields about EMS Synthesizers (and Buchla addition to that for Constantin), I should say Synthesisers because it is about the EMS Synthi 100.

first something: I saw both musicians playing their own performance – go and have a look at their sets here: Yoshio Machida & Constantin PapageorgiadisConstantin is also a very reliable EMS service guy and I really can say – there is almost nothing he doesn’t know about it – he wouldn’t say so – but I can do so! it’s true!

Yoshio Machida did a set with just one EMS and a simple tape delay – and emulated some sort of jazz drumming and very manual performance that really got me – that’s possible with just 2 OSCs, one 500 Hz OSC and Noise? yes, it is. so – Constantin lives in Belgium, his names is greek – and of course – Yoshio is from Japan. Contantin added another EMS and Buchla Music Easel – to play as Trap & Zoid with Laura Sicault – (she also had an EMS and 2 more synths)..

ok, let’s get back to now – this new CD is probably the newest of the super rare Synthi 100 recordings of 2017, here is how it might look like: no – it is exactly how it looks like:

it resides at IPEM in Gent (Belgium) – a wonderful city by the way – worth a visit.

the CD is basically a collection of recordings named Experiment, Generation followed by a number – they to me they feel like they are sorted by experience with the synth since it gets more and more in depth – like the 5th track reminds a bit of Ikeda but a lot more ambient with sweeps. the Synthi 100 consists of 6 OSCs – so it is sort of a monster – but today you could get this power out of an Arturia Origin or a mid size Eurorack – but – why the EMS? because of it’s distinct sound and that’s something that sounds unique.

pulses, sweeps and glitches – both of the musicians just use their hands in these recordings since the sequencer never worked – and Constantin says – it never worked in any time. the 100 at Gent was in bad shape – about 50% wasn’t working at all or completely out of tune or not calibrated – and as a EMS synth user (myself, you can listen to a performance at my Youtube channel) – that is important. So they made a deal – servicing it and be able to make a record with it, then. it should be open to everyone again – that’s the deal and – the clock striked 2015. So – a lot of money and time went into the machine – and here’s the CD they did as a result of a calibrated and working system.

so what I have in my hands is experimental synth work on just one big and rare and fully restored Synthi 100 – since both, Yoshio and Constantin are EMS supergeeks and play EMS (and Buchla) – all the love went into both – the EMS, the music, the passion — so it is not “just a demo CD” but if you are interested in the 100, why not just get one of these?